“Without the opportunity to learn through the hands, the world remains abstract and distant, and the passions for learning will not be engaged.” – Doug Stowe

In my newsletter I spoke about Labor Day’s beginning as a way to celebrate, honor and give a voice to the working class. I shared my thoughts about the working class being the producers and providers of services. The working class are those whose work demands full engagement of their physical bodies, and a deep immersion into the concrete world around them.

They are the embodied foundation of society.

In the west historically there has been a dissonance between book learning and practical experience. Somehow they’ve been pitted against each other and at times separating society primarily by race and economic status. Some folks scoffed at well learned educated folks, while others looked down on those that worked with their hands. Other times it was the exact opposite, those that chose to go into higher education were not particularly valued in communities with larger population of blue collar workers.

I know what you’re thinking…

How does this apply to yoga?

The applied yogi needs to be BOTH, absolutely visceral and engaged in all things earthy, grounding and primitive, while at the same time having a nimble creative, intelligent and discerning mind.

Come practice and embody these powerful qualities by focusing on your foundation (your worker physical body) and letting that help you serve optimally (your expressive intelligence).

Let yourself re-align and refresh yourself as we began the journey into Fall!

When was the last time that you thought of your work as sacred and meaningful?

How do you view work?

For a long time I thought that work was my job. I fell into the very well known habit of griping and complaining about my job pretty often. I began to dread waking up in the morning, knowing that I HAD to go to my job. While I was in my job I longed to be anywhere else but there…

I’m sure you’ve had this feeling at least once.

It wasn’t until I shifted my perspective from job to work that I began to honor what I did every day, all day long, not *just* at my job. I recognized that when I worked, when I engaged fully in my life, with a great sense of connection to not just with myself but to something much greater, an abundant sense of ease ensued.

Work as Service

The strong connection was highlighted when I truly understood Work as Service.

Labor Day was established to honor just that- service.

It began as a way to celebrate, honor and give a voice to the working class. The working class are producers and providers of services. The working class are those that engage in work that demands full engagement of their physical bodies, and a deep immersion into the concrete world around them. They are the embodied foundation of society.

When I view my work as carefully and consciously laying the foundation of my family’s and my life, its accomplishment becomes a sacred endeavor.

Come join me as we celebrate you, the worker, through a fun, inspiring and rejuvenative yoga practice on Labor Day.

Let’s get ready to welcome September and happily begin to transition into Fall 🙂

Hello everybody and welcome to EYK episode #6!

Just in case you are a new listener, the Elsie’s Yoga Kula Episodes are all about community. There are times when I want share with you guys more than the few minute intro that my Yoga Class Episodes allow me 😉 This is where I share some of the feedback that I’ve gotten from you guys, plus answer some questions I get, or anything else that I desire to put out

Today’s episode has some inspiring feedback from you guys, PLUS and interview with my twitter buddy Scott from Boston who shares all about his experience going to yoga for the first time ever! Some pretty cool insights from his perspective.

Featured Posts

Have you ever had someone ask for help and they just won’t listen? This is what this week’s yoga class is all about. I have a friend that I love dearly. This friend (let’s call him Pete) is kind hearted, he is giving, he is committed, he is loyal, and he has so much to […]

Hello lovely folks I was soooo looking forward to serving you Episode 84 this weekend, but alas, the computer dieties decided to put a halt on that. My MacBook’s backlight is no longer shining. The computer works, but I can’t see anything! If it was only about posting a blog…well, I could have swung that […]

“Without the opportunity to learn through the hands, the world remains abstract and distant, and the passions for learning will not be engaged.” – Doug Stowe In my newsletter I spoke about Labor Day’s beginning as a way to celebrate, honor and give a voice to the working class. I shared my thoughts about the working […]

These past few months I nearly got overwhelmed by anxiety. This hasn’t happened to me in a LONG time. I lost control of my rational thought process and simply dove into a feeling that was suffocating and terrifying. I can’t say that I was in any way comfortable. The only thing that pulled me out […]

When was the last time that you thought of your work as sacred and meaningful? How do you view work? For a long time I thought that work was my job. I fell into the very well known habit of griping and complaining about my job pretty often. I began to dread waking up in […]